Rabat – The British gas company SDX Energy announced a new gas discovery in the Gharb basin Tuesday, three weeks after abandoning the ELQ-1 well located in its permit in Kenitra.

The well, ONZ-7, is the fourth discovered by the company and one of five wells drilled as part of its nine-well campaign in Morocco.

“The well was drilled to a depth of 1,167 meters and found a porosity of 35.3 percent, exceeding the initial forecasts of the company,” Paul Welch, CEO of SDX Energy, said in an official statement.

According to the company, the well will be tested before being connected to the existing infrastructure. An update on the results of the tests will be announced in early February.

SDX is an international oil and gas exploration, production and development company, headquartered in London with a principal focus on North Africa.

The exploration company entered the Moroccan market in January after acquiring Circle Oil’s shares in Morocco for $30 million. The British company is now endowed with an eight-year permit to drill for gas in the Gharb basin.

In addition, the company successfully renewed their permits for the Gueddari North-West, Gueddari South, Sidi Al Harati South-West, and Ksiri Center sites. These permits will expire in 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2023 respectively.

In total, SDX Energy obtained licenses for seven drilling sites from the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines. The latter holds 25 percent of working interests of SDX Energy’s activity in Morocco.